Revenge is Bittersweet
by Sophie-Lou
Summary: Gwen plots her revenge when Arthur is unable to satisfy her needs after getting drunk one night. Arthur/Gwen. Smut.


**_Merlin _belongs to the good people at the BBC and Shine. Blesséd be the Licence Fee.**

* * *

><p>Gwen had an itch.<p>

It was an intolerable itch that burnt right inside her and it just couldn't go away. All evening it was nagging away at her. Even as she tried to get through the court business – as they were preparing for a visit from the High-King of Ierne in a few weeks – it was all she could think about. It made her tap her foot swiftly and randomly rock backwards and forwards in her chair. It made her feel anxious; she looked out of the window at the dark night and wondered how long it would be before Arthur returned to the palace.

She _needed_ Arthur to come home.

Sometimes she felt embarrassed by exhibiting clear signs of wistful behaviour, especially when she was constantly surrounded by servants and women deemed 'proper ladies'. It was thought by them to be highly inappropriate for a wife to desire intercourse with her husband on _her terms_ rather than his. But Gwen was too wanton to care anymore. She wanted to have sex. She_needed_ to have sex, and so she _needed_ Arthur to return home. _Now._

It was getting on for the late hours and the maids helped put Gwen to bed.

As they helped her undress Gwen stood in front of her full-length mirror. The dress fell away to reveal her growing pregnant belly. It was silhouetted by the candle light under her light white undress.

Gwen ran her hands over it affectionately. At least she would not be completely alone in bed, even though nothing quite made up for Arthur's company.

The maids tucked her into bed and began to snuff-out the candles.

"No, leave them," the queen ordered.

She gave leave to all her servants but for her chief maid.

There was still no sign of the king. A 'quick drink' was what Arthur had said; a quick drink with Gwaine and Merlin. How could she have been so stupid to agree to let him go? Gwaine never allowed any of his friends to drink minimally.

But surely Arthur wouldn't get drunk? He _never_ got drunk. Surely he wouldn't choose tonight of all nights to break the habit of a life time?

Gwen lay in bed, keeping the candles burning and waiting for him to either stumble through the door or for someone to come in and tell her that he'd returned. He'd probably want to take a late bath after his night on the town but she wouldn't let him. She longed for him to come home... but she couldn't help feeling angry for him going in the first place.

She was nearly dropping off when a knock came at the chamber door. Guinevere's maid, who had yet to be dismissed for the night due to the king's absence, answered the knock. She pocked her head out, someone murmured something to her and she turned to speak to her mistress.

"Pardon me, your majesty," the woman whispered gently, uncertain whether Gwen was awake or asleep.

Gwen pretended she had been sleeping, not wanting to let it be known about the servants that she would wait up all night for her husband.

She yawned and rubbed her eyes, "What is it, Sarah?"

"It is Sir Percival at the door, your majesty," the servant continued to whisper. "The King has returned to the castle. He is... a little ill."

Gwen sat up in bed immediately, shaking off her fake tiredness. "How do you mean 'ill'?"

"He is... not himself."

A scowl crossed Gwen's face. She pushed back the covers, pulled on her boots and pulled on her dressing-robe to see Percival at the door. He stood tall over the tiny queen and bowed his head respectfully.

"Sorry about this, my lady," he said with a much softer voice than one expected for someone of his size. "I wouldn't bother you with this only the lads and I don't know what to do with him. Arthur is... well, he's pissed for lack of a better word. Merlin and Gwaine have completely slain him."

That made Gwen's blood boil. Normally she could forgive her best friend and her most trusted knight their boyish Saturday nights on the town but they were denying her a _fundamental_ need by intoxicating her husband.

How could Arthur have let himself be so drawn in?

Gwen felt her fury grow, "Where is he right now?"

"He, Gwaine and Merlin are all in Gaius's chambers," Percival explained. "We're trying to sober him up."

Gwen slammed her bedroom door and led the way to Gaius's chambers. Even with his long legs striding against her dainty small legs, Percival couldn't keep up with her frenzied pace.

The door to Gaius's chambers swung open, startling the hell out of Gaius, Elyan, Leon, Lancelot and the three intoxicated men. Gwaine was laughing, Merlin was being sick in a bucket and Arthur had rested his head on the table to go to sleep.

That annoyed Gwen all the more and she immediately gave out her orders. She ordered Gaius to put Merlin to bed and for Elyan and Lancelot to help Gwaine home.

She would deal with them tomorrow.

"What shall we do with, Arthur?" Leon asked once it was just him, Gwen and Percival.

Gwen turned to Percival, "You can carry him, can't you?"

Percival chuckled and immediately pulled Arthur up to pick him up like a knight would a maiden. As he was hoisted up from the chair, Arthur muttered something incoherent and his head dangled supported in the giant's grasp. If he had been conscious, he'd have been ashamed of himself.

"To your chambers?" Percival asked.

The side of Gwen's mouth twitched. A fat lot of good Arthur would be to her in this condition. Oh, she would bloody _murder_ Gwaine and Merlin tomorrow. Tonight, she would punish Arthur too for allowing himself to be led astray by those two. He should have known better.

"To the cells," Gwen ordered, and turned to lead the way again. "That ought to sober him up."

Behind her Gaius had just emerged from pulling Merlin to bed and he caught the end of their conversation. It surprised him that she would suggest such a thing, although he had already identified that her anger came from sexual dissatisfaction that night. He was old but he knew the signs.

Although Percival had some reservations about taking his lord and master to a holding cell to be chained up until morning, he obeyed his mistress faithfully. He followed her through the castle, down to the dungeons and through to the larger, more private holding cells.

He then obeyed her when she told him to restrain his wrists behind his back and then leave him to sleep. Percival didn't quite understand why she wanted to do that but imagined it was so Arthur wouldn't do himself any harm. Then again Arthur was so out of it he didn't really seem to realise what was going on.

Once the job was done Gwen bid Percival goodnight and he silently went home.

Leon, who had watched and followed them from Gaius's chambers, stepped forward to comment. "Gwen, isn't this _a little bit_ over-the-top?"

"Absolutely," Gwen replied blankly, staring at Arthur and barely taking in the knight's voice. "But it'll give him a chance to sober up properly." 

* * *

><p>Arthur slowly started to come around. He had briefly awoken during the night but had taken his surroundings and the banging in his head to be a semi-dream and, somehow, he got back to sleep.<p>

Even now it took him a while to realise where he was and another moment after that to realise his wrists were clamped behind his back to the wall. He couldn't even rub his eyes or his head, so he squeezed his eyes closed and opened them again to try and clear his vision.

His brain felt woozy but he had slept through the worst of the pain.

He was lying on a thin mattress and he had to use his body weight to pull himself upright. With his hands occupied, he missed them more than ever. _How did he end up here like this?_

His question was answered when he looked forward, focusing his eyes on the door. There leant against it was his wife.

"Guinevere," he croaked questioningly.

Gwen was leaned with her back against the door with a pensive look on her face as she stared down at her hung-over husband. He didn't seem too bad now. It was time to enact her 'revenge' for last night. It was petty but... for some reason she felt she needed to make Arthur understand just how 'without' she felt last night. Arthur responded well to being shown how she felt.

She came forward and kneeled down in front of him.

Arthur couldn't begin to guess what he was doing here so he decided to just ask.

"What am I doing here, Guinevere?" he asked simply.

"You were drunk last night."

The young king lurched forward, not really remembering last night very well. Gwaine and Merlin had spilt all in the end; Arthur's drunkenness came from Gwaine's bet that he could hold his drink better than the prince. He was only winding him up and yet Arthur – a man who usually abstained from anything more than one or two goblets of wine – took up the challenge, the proud idiot!

"Dear God – what did I do?" Arthur asked, clearly worried.

"It's what you _didn't_ do that upset me."

He stared at her, "What didn't I do then?"

Gwen leaned closer to him, "Me, that's what."

Arthur stared at her with disbelief before he realised she was serious. He pulled a confused face, looked to one side and then back of her. "You locked me down here," he said slowly, still trying to make sense of the facts in his head, "because we didn't have sex last night?"

"I was left in a very uncomfortable position last night," Gwen said with an edge. The itch was still throbbing away inside her even now, and more so, after having waited all night for Arthur to sober up. "I still am in an uncomfortable position."

"So am I but for completely different reasons," Arthur said, rattling the chain behind him. "We didn't have sex on Thursday either. You didn't chain me up in the dungeons then."

"You weren't drunk on Thursday," Gwen pointed out. "In the state you were in last night you weren't even awake to kiss me."

Arthur sighed, "Alright, alright. I see your point and I'm sorry."

The young queen just huffed in reply, folded her arms and turned to look away from him.

"Any idea when this mood swing is going to end?" the king asked.

That was a mistake.

Gwen stormed up to Arthur and stood in front of him. She poked him with her foot and ordered, "Stand up."

Arthur rattled his chains.

"You can still stand up," she told him, before adding harshly, "If you're sober enough now."

He glared at her. As if he were rising to a challenge, Arthur pressed his back up against the cell wall and used the strength in his legs to push himself up straight. He looked down into Gwen's eyes, prepared to take his punishment.

Gwen came closer to him, right up until their unborn child bridged the gap between them. Prior to her pregnancy she could have used the power of her curves in this petty torture she had spent all night devising. But now she would have to use her hands alone.

She ran her hand slowly down Arthur's body.

"Oh," he murmured, as if unimpressed. "I see what you're doing..."

Arthur realised immediately what Gwen was doing. Nonetheless his cockiness did not last much longer. His breath became more and more laboured as her hand finally reached his crouch. Gwen stroked the material teasingly and watched as he fought not to move. The only movement Arthur made was his wrists, struggling against the iron cuffs instinctively, wanting to swirl around and touch her.

He closed his eyes.

"You're going to get me all worked up," Arthur swallowed thickly. "Then you're just going to leave me here, aren't you?"

Gwen glanced up at him, interrupting her hand movement.

"Am I that predictable?"

Arthur opened his eyes and stared at the murky ceiling above him, fighting to focus on something and think of anything other than the movement of Gwen's hand. He swallowed again, "I don't think you've ever plotted something so... cruel."

"It took me all night to think of it," Gwen murmured back.

She used her free hand to push the material of his shirt away. Like a snake striking at prey, Gwen's mouth immediately went to his bared chest and licked the exposed skin.

Arthur made a quick, hoarse cry and jerked his head to look down at her again. Gwen stopped briefly to look up at him.

"Are you really _that_ angry with me?"

Gwen said nothing and resumed kissing his chest, this time with the careful attention and tenderness a wife would show.

It made it all the harder for Arthur to keep himself together. He tried to think of _anything_ except Gwen's fingers on his trousers or her mouth against his chest. But it was steadily becoming more _and more_ impossible. The more Arthur tried not to think about it, the more he found it was all he could think about.

He felt Gwen smile against his skin as they both felt his steady growth. It was slowly becoming more _and more_ uncomfortable for him, as indicated by his failure to stifle his groans, and that pleased Gwen even more.

Arthur even tried to mentally _reason_ with his body's involuntary actions. He reminded himself of Gwen's cruel plan, that she would bring him as close as she could to the height of arousal... and then abandon him. He would have no satisfaction at the end of this foreplay. Instead of having her sweet, wet and pliant body to accommodate him, his desire would be left orphaned.

The thought of that made Arthur rue the moment he ever agreed to have a drink with Gwaine and Merlin. He would make them both pay for this, unable to make Gwen pay... yet.

Gwen nipped the skin with her teeth.

Arthur threw his head back so far his head hit the stone wall behind him. "Ouch!" he quivered, immediately forgetting the pain from the other sensations in his body. He almost felt like crying in aggravation. "God, Gwen—please stop—I'm begging you—_stop_—"

"You sound distressed, Arthur," Gwen whispered, moving her mouth away from his chest to look him in the eyes. Her revenge was almost complete. "Perhaps I should leave you alone..."

The thought of being left alone like this crushed Arthur more than anything he had ever experienced. He had faced threats of violence, torture and death but none of it seemed quite as bad in comparison to being left like _this_.

It was too much.

Arthur collapsed painfully onto his knees, unable to even bear standing anymore. His head poked Gwen in the abdomen and she brought her hands up to twist and curl her fingers into his hair. Arthur rubbed his face against the small protruding stomach, gently kissing it through the light blue material of her dress. _At least my seed has never gone to waste before_, Arthur found himself thinking.

It was an odd thought but he still thought it.

Gwen continued to caress Arthur's head as he leaned his cheek against her belly and remained still, his eyes shut in a pained and pleading way as he wondered how long it would be before she left him. Alone. Like this. With no way to alleviate himself.

"It's not a nice feeling, is it?" she whispered down to him. The wetness of his breath was starting to penetrate even her petticoat, "That burning throbbing, and no way of helping yourself. Imagine what it must feel like to have that same aching _deep inside your body_..."

Arthur didn't know how it was possible, but he felt just as aroused by her words as he had been by her touches earlier. They made him think of what it was like to be right there, deep inside her body and relieving her throbbing ache.

"Guinevere..." he began.

"...and no way of relieving that ache," Gwen continued, tightening her grip on Arthur's hair. She twisted the short strands around her fingers. He grunted. "It hurts, doesn't it?"

"...please."

"I was going to just leave you down here, you know," she told him frankly. "I was going to get you all aroused and then I was going to leave you to think about what you'd done."

"So—what's—stopping you?" Arthur said shakily.

Gwen forced him to look up at her.

"I realised that if I do that, I'm still losing out," she told him conclusively.

With little difficulty she pushed Arthur back so he was seated on the hard floor once again. He landed with a painful thump. The sight of him almost looked pitiful, and Gwen found that she liked that.

She lifted her skirts up slightly and walked in between his legs.

His eyes, previously hazy with self-pity, suddenly came to life again.

"So I thought I would just make love to you instead," Gwen finally announced.

She nested herself to straddle his lap. The stone dungeon floor felt hard against her knees. Behind his back Arthur rattled his chains again, feeling the discomfort it entailed despite this sudden proposal of intimacy.

He grunted again, "While I'm chained to the wall?"

Gwen gently squeezed the front of his trousers before opening them, causing him to cough ungracefully over his own words.

"You're always saying we should try new things," Gwen replied cheekily.

Despite everything Arthur couldn't help but chuckle at what she said. This whole thing seemed incredibly bizarre; the king chained up in his own cells by the queen as punishment for not fulfilling his duties as a husband to her and about to be made love to by her simply because the 'itch' irritated her too much.

Gwen slipped his cock from his trousers and positioned herself above him, arranging her skins to drape around their fronts and the floor.

Arthur's voice quivered.

"Are you sure this is a good idea in your condition?"

She braced her hands against his shoulders.

"I'm not _that_ pregnant, Arthur."

What did he think she was going to do?

Gwen slipped onto him so easily and smoothly that Arthur realised just how long she had been waiting for this and how much she _damn-well_ wanted it. He closed his eyes and threw his head back, banging it painfully against the wall. She chuckled at his foolishness.

Being on top, and therefore in control, it was Gwen who decided just how far she took Arthur into her body... and so she immediately took him in as deep as possible. His breaths came quick as he felt the tight, wet walls of her inside squeezed around his length. He tried to shift against her, to try and thrust and hit that spot that was giving Gwen so much bother.

But she put all her weight into holding him down. Her hands where on his shoulders, her thighs were pressed around his legs, and whole body was keeping him right there, in the depths of her loins. They would only begin moving when _she_ wanted them to.

Gwen pressed as much of her body as she could alongside him and grinded herself to and through against him as she tried to find a good point. She even made small, shallow little thrusts but none of them were enough to give Arthur much pleasure. Yet he dared not take these opportunities to move himself. He knew there was only a fine line between punishment and this. So he just listened to her gentle little sighs and coos.

Then she seemed satisfied.

Bracing herself against his shoulders again she lifted herself up, and back, against his legs and then swiftly moved back. It hit the throbbing inside her body hard and fast, and induced a relieved groan from Arthur.

Gwen stopped again and took in her breath with a shiver. "See what you were missing?" she said tauntingly.

Arthur tugged again at his chains. He'd have given anything at that moment to touch her.

"Undo the chains," he suggested coyly. "Let me pleasure you properly."

She withdrew him slowly again.

"You're too aroused, you'd finish too quickly."

She made another thrust.

He closed his eyes and then opened them again.

"I need to make this last," Gwen told him. "For now."

After that she maintained her steady (and slower than Arthur was accustomed to) pace. With each new movement she gasped slightly. Each time she made that noise, Arthur felt his stomach tighten with desire for _more_ movement. She was finally satisfying her inch, but he did not feel very... involved. She was using him for gratification and that was it. He wasn't doing anything other than sit there with a hard-on. He could have been anyone and it wouldn't have made a difference to her, although he was glad he wasn't anyone; he was Arthur and her husband.

Yet it made him feel sad and detached.

It was a new experience as usually Arthur felt very involved in their lovemaking, and this punishment was well and truly leaving him crestfallen.

Gwen could feel herself approaching resolution. It was then that she noticed Arthur's undeniably sad face. "What's wrong?" she asked, feeling a little concerned.

He looked at her with a sour face.

"I might as well not be here," Arthur told her frankly. "You won't let me touch you, or move inside you, or even kiss you..."

Upon hearing that, Gwen started to feel sad too. This was supposed to be his punishment and yet the look in his eyes made her feel as bad as he did. As if instinct took over, she pressed her lips firmly and passionately against Arthur's, trying to prove what he was saying wrong. He keenly kissed her back, and used this distraction on her part to move his body a little against her. She made a tiny bleat of pleasure in his mouth.

She broke the kiss. She had thought she wanted to make this last as long as possible in order to make him suffer, but now she wanted instant gratification... one that she couldn't do alone.

She lifted herself up against him, finally giving Arthur room to move.

Gwen stroked his hair and kissed his forehead. "Go on, then."

He didn't waste any time thinking about it.

Driven mad by the last ten minutes, Arthur pumped as hard and as fast as he could. It wasn't quite as rapid as it would be if his hands were free. Usually when they were at the height of their passion he would clutch her flesh tightly against him and help her move along with him.

Gwen used her own arms to hold herself against him. It was a new experience having her in control, and now he had the freedom to at least move his hips back and forth against her. She rolled her hips against his thrusts gently, and both finally felt the satisfaction crawl up between them.

"I'm – sorry," Arthur said hastily, not wanting to lose this pace. "I swear – I'll never drink – again."

"You better not!" Gwen giggled, feeling the ultimate waves of delight burn inside her. Her previous discomfort finally started to become a distant memory. "It – doesn't look – right – locking – a king – in the – _dungeon!_"

As she said that last word, she clutched him tightly as came with a soft, strangely satisfied keen. She chuckled, leaned forward and kissed him.

Her body relaxed, and she made sure to give him the space to finish off. She had a head start over him, after all. He finally came a minute or so later, completing his movement with a harsh stab of the hips as he used his chained arms to push him as far forward as possible.

"God, I needed that," Gwen said with a sigh. She slipped herself off him and leant forward to redo his trousers for him. "You managed quite well despite being chained up."

Arthur leaned his head against the wall.

"For a moment there, I thought you would... you know."

"What?"

"Get yourself off, and then leave me here."

Gwen tilted her head, "I hadn't even thought of that."

He pulled a face and hoped he hadn't put any ideas into her head for the future.

She smiled when she saw his face.

"You needn't worry," Gwen assured him. "I would never be that cruel. Besides it turns out that when you want to make love someone, it can only really be a double effort."

There was a glimmer in her eyes that made Arthur smile.

She patted the front of his trousers one last time before she climbed off Arthur's lap to rearrange her dress and flatten her hair. She briefly rubbed the tiny bump on her stomach, as if to make sure it was still there.

After a moment watching her, Arthur remembered that he was still chained up.

"Well," he started slowly. "You got what you wanted. So, aren't you going to let me go?"

Gwen finished up, turned to him and smirked.

"Not quite yet," she told him.

She turned towards the door.

Arthur stared blankly after her, "What do you mean?"

"I still want to punish you," Gwen told him generally. "I was too weak to deny you sexually but I can still keep you locked down here until lunch time."

His eyes widened.

"Guinevere!"

She tilted her head, this time with a tint of mockery. "Arthur, how are you supposed to learn your lesson otherwise? So far I've done nothing but _reward_ you."

Although this was a terrible slam to his manly pride, one that he will pay her back for later, he couldn't help laughing at the situation. It was probably some comfort to her that he could at least see the funny side of this... and there were so many worse punishments she could have dished out. Like denying him sex.

"So you're going to leave me down here until it suits you?" Arthur asked, trying to match her teasing voice and appear unbothered. "What about my morning duties? I have to train my men."

"I've already given them the morning off," Gwen stated with a smile. "They can skip in the forest collecting pinecones for all I care; I'm going back to bed and think of a way to punish Gwaine and Merlin. Cleaning boots might be the answer."

She opened the cell door.

"I'll make you pay for this, you know," Arthur said unthreateningly, even at that moment not sure how he would go about punishing her. "I'll find a way."

"You do that," Gwen replied. "In the meantime, you can sit there with the memory of what just happened and the thought of me lying alone in bed... and wonder about what might have been."

Arthur watched her go. He lamented her leaving for less than a few minutes as it finally came to him how he was going to get her back. It would involve the bedposts and these very chains. It was always best to fight fire with fire.


End file.
